As I mentioned in the last post I want to prepare nine posts on the subject of “Adverb Clauses” and now I organize the second post of that series.

In this post you can see the way of using “because”, “now that” and “since” and you can use them in your sentences.

USING ADVERB CLAUSES TO SHOW CAUSE AND EFFECT

Because

(a) Because he was sleepy, he went to bed.

(b) He went to bed because he was sleepy.

An adverb clause may precede or follow the independent clause. Notice the punctuation in (a) and (b).

Now that

(c) Now that the semester is over, I’m going to rest a few days and then take a trip.

(d) Jack lost his job. Now that he’s unemployed, he can’t pay his bills.

Now that means “because now.” In (c ): Now that semester is over means “because the semester is now over.” Now that is used for present causes of present or future situations.

Since

(e) Since Monday is a holiday, we don’t have to go to work.

(f) Since you’re a good cook and I’m not, you should cook the dinner.

When Since is used to mean “because,” it expresses a known cause; it means “because it is a fact that” or “given that it is true that.” Cause and effect sentences with since say: “Given the fact that X is true, Y is the result.” In (e): “Given the fact that Monday is a holiday, we don’t have to go to work.”

Note: Since has two meanings. One is “Because.” It is also used in time clauses: e.g., Since I came here, I have met many people.